“In the nuclear power plant were more than 2000 rooms, it was impossible to remember them all at once, but I understood something elementary: The more dangerous the rooms were in which one went, the thicker and stronger were the doors. That is not unimportant to know if you handle an unknown object without lighting.” “ Due to my long experience with operative tasks I was ordered to clarify if the layout plan of the nuclear power plant still was depicting reality. Together with some soldiers we went to check if the fire hydrant really worked. And we found out that all were concrete-cast and the concrete ceiling was half a metre thick. Our military had never thought about fire hydrants at all.”

“In October the nights are cold and the soldiers lighted fires. By doing so they inhaled a lot of smoke and ashes, which were radioactive.... No one refused to do any work, because no one suspected which severe consequences the service was going to have on the health.”

“The way to the troop quarters was in direct proximity to the nuclear power plant. It was early in the morning. Through the mist you could see the outlines of the nuclear power station. Then, I tasted the metallic flavour of radioactivity for the first time.“

“The compensation we received was not enough to survive. It was August and everywhere there were apples and pears we happily plucked and ate.“

“I had been a passionate fisherman and often went fishing at our lake... On that morning I arrived at the lake and didn't recognize it, the seawater had turned green.  My wife was milking the cow, the milk was green and ropy. We wanted to sell the cow, washed it carefully and brought it to the cattle market but because of high corporation we couldn't sell it. Due to bribery we could later sell it to another Sovkhoz (state farm).“

“We were on duty every day, drove into the cities of the 30-km-zone, measured radioactivity and treated the sick. I will never forget those people with their incurable wounds. We did not know where they were coming from. Also the doctors were ill-informed. Today I understand why we could not heal their wounds.“

“That was the first victory, the victory over radiation. The people have proved that they are invincible! The twelve-day-labour was crowned with success... Yet, it was hard to believe that after the laborious decontamination works the level of radiation had been reduced while the next morning when we arrived at the nuclear power station to measure the level of radiation, we had to find out that the level had risen again! Every three to four days there were radioactive emissions from the fourth reactor once more. The reactor hadn't just given off radioactivity, it was “spewing“ it.” 

“The transport parachutes were loaded for us by so called ''partisans'', which means people who due to the state of emergency had to be called up quickly from the reserves. They each loaded one barrel of lead (ordinary shot lead in sacks of ten to twenty kilogram each). As if working on a production line the flights took place in intervals of two to three minutes. The first take-off made an impression on my mind. At this time the people from Pripjat had already been evacuated, and from the air we could see deserted lorries, cars and laundries on balconies. It was just a frightening emptiness, not a single human being was there.“

"Before the start of work we got the instruction via radio not to work in this area for more than four hours. Thirty minutes later we got another instruction, saying that these four hours did not include lunch break. I call that gallows humour. Do you expect radioactivity to ''vanish into thin air'' during lunch break?!"

''While approaching the exploded reactor, a terrible scene met my eyes: the roof of the fourth reactor had been destroyed due to the explosion and inside you could see the fuels of the nuclear explosion. The firemen completed their task – they were successful in keeping the fire from spreading. For the helicopters there was the difficulty that at first there were not enough transport parachutes and devices for fastening and throwing off the load from the helicopter. But this problem had been solved one day later. It had been decided to fill the reactor with sand, lead and dolomite. All flights took place in short intervals, as if working on a production line.“

''Our rationing came from the field kitchen. Apples and cherries were ripening in the gardens of the surrounding area. We changed our military clothes when they were ''dirty''. It was harvesting season and the locals were working on the fields. In order not to scare them, we were not wearing our face masks.''

''In my worst nightmares I could not imagine having to leave the village forever... We were only allowed to take documents, money and jewellery with us. Then, we had only been married for eight years. Through hard work we were able t buy a refrigerator and new furniture. We had to leave all those things in the house. We were told that we were only allowed to come back after 90 years, which to us meant leaving our small and precious home forever.''

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